RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab can locate tumor cells and either kill them or deliver tumor-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy drugs and kill more cancer cells.

PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining chemotherapy and rituximab with peripheral stem cell transplantation in treating patients who have mantle cell lymphoma.

Determine the complete and partial response rates of patients treated with this regimen.

Determine the disease-free and overall survival of patients treated with this regimen.

Determine the autologous immune reconstitution in patients treated with this regimen.

Determine the feasibility of this regimen in this patient population.

Determine whether treatment with rituximab during autologous PBSC transplantation reduces the amount of contaminating lymphoma in the autologous PBSC product.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients receive induction therapy comprising rituximab IV over 4-6 hours on day 1; methotrexate IV over 4 hours on day 2; cyclophosphamide IV over 2 hours, doxorubicin IV, and vincristine IV on day 3; and oral prednisone on days 3-7. Patients also receive leucovorin calcium IV every 6 hours beginning on day 3 and continuing until blood levels of methotrexate are safe. Filgrastim (G-CSF) is administered subcutaneously (SC) beginning on day 4 and continuing until blood counts recover.

Induction therapy repeats every 21-28 days for 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Rituximab may be omitted during course 1 if circulating mantle cells are excessive. Patients may receive a third course if more than 15% persistent bone marrow involvement is documented.

Patients with stable or responding disease begin consolidation therapy 29 days after the start of the final course of induction therapy. Patients receive cytarabine IV over 2 hours twice daily and etoposide IV over 96 hours on days 1-4. Patients also receive rituximab IV over 4-6 hours on days 5 or 6 and 12 or 13 and G-CSF SC beginning on day 14 and continuing until leukapheresis is complete. Patients undergo leukapheresis beginning between days 22-25 and continuing until adequate CD34 cells are collected.

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Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00020943